Spray Paint Art

Spray paint is a medium that is more likely to call to mind images of gritty, urban graffiti than fine art.  But, be that as it may, there are artists all over the creative spectrum who use it as a medium for their art.  It combines the versatility and range of an airbrush with the speed of almost instant gratification when it comes to color changes, instead of having to clean out an airbrush between colors.

Having a met a number of graffiti artists in my work as a tattoo artist, I’ve always been intrigued by spray paint and its myriad of applications.  For the purposes of this blog, we’re going to turn our focus away from the kind of spray paint applications that are considered towards the property damage side of the spectrum.  Instead, we’re going to focus on painting things other than graffiti with spray paint.  To get a better idea about what I mean, check out this video (it reminds me of a Bob Ross inspired landscape):

I ended up spending a lot of time watching this guy's videos on youtube, he's got quite a collection if any of this stuff intrigues you like it did me!  One in particular video that really demonstrates just how quickly a finished spray painting can be completed is this one:

As a more traditional painter, myself, it's really incredible to see someone start with a blank canvas or page and one minute later have a completed piece!  Another example of what feels like almost instant gratification as an artist was found here, where the artist creates an entire space cityscape in a matter of minutes:

Now I would wager that any of these paintings could be sold at a modest profit (at least!).   But the final video I’m going to share with you, dear readers, is a design that I’m sure is particularly well-suited to be marketable to a wide range of people.  No matter how any times I’ve seen this guy’s work, I’m still amazed at how easy he makes the various techniques look!

After watching so many videos, I was literally overflowing with inspiration; I decided to try a few of the more basic ones to start with.  There was more trial and error than I expected at the onset, but once I became more comfortable with the various angles to hold the cans at, as well as the effect that both distance from the can to the page AND the amount of pressure being applied to the nozzle can produce, I felt like I had a lot more control over the finished product.  This doesn’t even take into consideration the plethora of effects that can be attained by swapping out the basic nozzle with tips that can be bought in most art supply stores.

I started out with a base of Bristol board, and a few different colors of spray paint.  Since I was trying to get a feel for the basics, I decided to stick with some abstract designs that could be used as background for later artwork.   In the photo below, I used a scrap sheet of uncut Bristol board.  First I sprayed a basic flat layer of color, then laid the scrap Bristol over top and used it to create a variety of angles and layers.  Unfortunately, there was a bit of shine to the red paint I was using, and the support was too big to fit in my scanner, so I’ve shared two shots of the same image to show as much of the detail as possible, but there are a lot of subtleties that are lost in the digital translation.

This second spray painting was executed using 3 colors instead of 2, as in the last, and instead of using a straight squared edge, I cut a loose S-curve shape up one side of the scrap paper and used a similar method.  I did vary my color layers a little more on this piece, and in the end I think that there is a definite difference in the overall feel.

 

I liked this second piece so much I decided to use it as the base/background for a collage I made for another class.  I hope that the information and videos I’ve shared here will serve as an inspiration to some, and as education to the wide range of possibilities of this often unconsidered or possible unappreciated medium.